Epilogue Chosyn Gravehart
Two Months Later…
Stepping onto the porch, the city didn't feel the same.
Winter had passed, and spring was in full bloom, yet an eerie chill lingered.
Life was continuing, but nothing about it felt alive to me.
It wasn't a mystery why everything felt so off and so bleak.
Wolfe and Crown took it the hardest. They put on their bravest faces kept their voices steady and eyes dry while the rest of us were falling apart.
Still, grief didn't care how brave they were.
It always found its way through the cracks.
And when Honor died… something in both of them died too.
I couldn't speak much on Crown. The only person he cared to be around was River.
If she stayed in, he stayed in. If she moved, he followed.
The world outside of her didn't matter anymore.
He stopped showing up, stopped answering, stopped being anything to anyone who wasn't Four.
In the last two months, he missed every appointment with his couch lady.
Crown just disappeared, letting his grief swallow him whole.
Like Crown, Wolfe held on tighter, but not only to me. He held on to everyone he loved, to every moment we shared, and every word that still had the chance to be said and received. It was like everything he never got the chance to say to Honor was begging to be let out, so he made sure we heard it.
"What you doing out here?"
Wolfe's voice was rough, like sleep hadn't touched him in days. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me in place. I leaned into him without thinking, letting my body melt into his like it knew the way home better than I did.
This… was love for me.
What Wolfe and I shared wasn't performative or something that needed to be proven every second with pretty words and empty promises.
It was just us, and I saw it every time I looked at him.
I felt it in the way his hands held me tight because I was something he refused to lose.
Everything about our love was present in his actions toward me, especially the way he chose me while grieving, instead of letting it hollow him out.
Love was the constant I never had to question regarding my husband, and I appreciated that more than he knew.
"I was about to go check the mail," I told him, giggling when he pressed wet kisses on my cheek.
"Go do that," he rasped, nudging me forward. "Let me see some too."
Smirking, I slowed my steps and added a little extra sway to my hips, giving him the show he wanted. I reached the mailbox and could still feel his eyes on me as I pulled out two letters. One addressed to me, the other to Wolfe.
"That's my fucking baby momma!" he shouted, grinning proudly as if the whole block needed to hear him claim me.
I turned, raising my brows. "I'm your wife. Address me as such, 'fore you have hoes thinking it's sweet over here."
"Ain't no hoes checking for me." He waved me off.
"Keep sleeping on Ms. Bell across the street," I shot back, walking toward him. "If her old, knocked-kneed ass comes outside one more time in tight spandex shorts, a sports bra, and orthopedic sandals, I'm climbing on the roof and scooping her ass."
"Chill," he laughed, shaking his head, "Ms. Bell knows you're my heart."
"She better," I smirked, pressing his letter against his chest, "or I'ma bury her ass where your heart used to be."
"What's this?" he asked, glancing down at the envelope.
"I don't know, but I got one too."
I headed inside, already tearing mine open. The paper was thick, cream colored, and felt expensive. I unfolded the paper and softly gasped. The name at the bottom hit me like a gut punch.
"Wolfe, I—"
"I need a minute," he cut me off, letting a single kiss brush my forehead as he walked past me without another word.
As much as I wanted to follow and fix what I knew was hurting him, I let him go.
If I learned anything about pain in the last few years, it was that pain needed space before it could be spoken to.
So, I gave Wolfe that space and moved into the kitchen, letting my daily routine distract me as I made lunch for Nix before she woke up from her nap.
I set the letter and envelope on the island and moved through the kitchen on autopilot.
The fridge was my first stop. I opened it and grabbed honey turkey, mozzarella cheese, butter, and bread.
I crafted Nix's grilled sandwich with steady hands, even though everything inside me was starting to crack.
The pan hissed once the butter hit it, and after a few seconds, I laid the sandwich down and watched the bread start to brown.
Reaching for the letter, I took a breath and started reading my brother's last words.
Chosyn… my brother's heart in human form,
I know you're probably ready to pull a blade on a nigga for the way I chose to do this shit, but you gotta understand, this was always how it was gon' end for me.
It just came sooner than any of y'all would've wanted.
By the time you're reading this, Killian will have already gotten rid of my body.
I know that probably pissed Gigi off, but it had to be done like that.
The Sovereign Circle wouldn't believe I was dead without proof…
and the only proof they respect is seeing it with their own eyes.
I won't get into all the extra shit 'cause I know you don't give a fuck 'bout none of it. However, I will speak to you about something you do care about.
Wolfe.
He needs you. If I know my brother, he's trying to hold everything together right now, and trying to be strong 'cause he thinks that's what I would've wanted.
It's not. I've seen what happens when Wolfe bottles shit up.
I've seen what it does to him, and I don't want that for him, not this time.
What I want… is for him to live. Live in that life that the two of you built together.
You're perfect for him, Chosyn, and Wolfe was made for you. So love on my brother the way you always do… but harder right now. Be his heart when he feels like it's failing him. Be his strength when his starts to give out.
With you, I know he's straight, and with him… I never gotta question if you're happy.
Take care of my niece. Raise Nix better than any of us was raised. My only wish is that she never knows what it feels like to carry weight that ain't hers. No Gravehart should ever have to live like that again. That shit died with me.
I left Grove Towers to you and Wolfe. I even put Nix on the deed. Tell Wolfe to hit my estate lawyer, and they'll handle everything.
This is y'all new beginning. I'm just glad I played a small part in getting you there.
I love you, Chosyn.
-Honor.
P.S. On the back, there's a number for Bronwynn Lockhart, a young girl who makes marmalade teas. I got a feeling that the two of you could build something special together. Don't sleep on it and reach out.
By the time I finished reading, my entire chest felt like it wanted to cave in.
I folded the letter, then slammed it onto the island.
The sound cracked through the kitchen as I flipped Nix's sandwich.
Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.
I still didn't fully understand what happened.
All I had were fractured explanations. Navy saying he was shot…
then nothing because she blacked out and woke up in the hospital with more silence than answers.
We tried asking her to fill in the blanks, but she shut down, so we stopped asking and did our best to live while carrying confusion and grief.
Get it together, Chosyn. Your husband needs you.
I inhaled deeply and exhaled even slower over and over until the tears stopped.
Removing Nix's sandwich from the pan, I placed it on a plate and set it on the table where her highchair was.
She'd be up soon and didn't need to see her mother in tears.
I wiped down the counter and put everything back where it belonged before heading toward Wolfe's office.
I knocked gently then pushed the door open.
Wolfe sat behind his desk, elbows planted, head buried in his hands, as if he were trying to hold himself together physically.
Rough, broken sniffles filled the room, breaking every inch of my heart.
I stepped inside quietly, closing the door behind me like I was protecting this moment from the rest of the world.
"Wolfie," I softly called out.
When he didn't look up, I walked around the desk and turned his chair away from his desk so I could sit in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him in the same way he always pulled me into him when I needed it.
"Hey," I whispered against his head, pressing a soft kiss there, "you don't gotta hold it together right now. I got you." And I meant it exactly how Honor asked me to.